Zen Garden Meditation Zen Garden was built in 1998 according to a design by a prominent Japanese architect. Kanji Nomury from Kusatsu is in a park near Parkhotel Richmond on the southern outskirts of Karlovy Vary. The park was founded on the 150th birthday of Dr. Erwin von Pals, a prominent German internist doctor was invited by the Japanese Emperor in 1876 to help lay the foundations of modern medicine in Japan. As an expert in water treatment, the Japanese came to Karlovy Vary. The park's ceremonial opening was in June 1998. The park bears the name of the wife of the German physician, Hannah Pals, who contributed to the convergence of Japanese and European culture.